2013 NL West Predictions

March 31, 2013

The World Series Champion Giants look like the team to beat in this division. The Dodgers made some off season moves, but they may not be enough to catch the Giants.

1 Giants – The Giants are looking to back up their World Series win with another deep playoff run. Buster Posey will be leading the Giants offensively. The pitching staff that he will be handling includes Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, and Barry Zito. If they stay healthy, they will be the team to beat in the West

2 Dodgers – The Dodgers picked up Zack Greinke, who should help their rotation. With Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez leading the charge, they should score some runs. An injury to Hanley Ramirez will keep him out for the first six weeks and leaves a big hole at third base. Any early slide will make it difficult to catch the Giants this season.

3 Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks will have a young rotation, all under 30 years old. Losing Justin Upton does not help matters. They finished 81-81 in 2012 and look like they will finish with about the same record in 2013.

4 Padres – Other than Chase Headley (who will start the season on the DL), the Padres do not have any stars on their team. Rookie phenom catcher Yasmani Grandal will be missing 50 games due to a PED suspensioin. Their pitching rotation is underwhelming.

5 Rockies – The worst pitching staff from 2012 does not look like it improved much for 2013. Troy Tulowitzki is the undisputed star of the Rockies, but there is not much more on this team. If the pitching comes around, they may battle the Padres for 4th place, but even that looks like a long shot.

The NL West may not have a 90 game winner in 2013, but their division champ could make a deep playoff run. The Giants and the Dodgers are the front runners.

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